Senate Votes To Turn Down Volume On TV Commercials 625
Hugh Pickens writes "Ever since television caught on in the 1950s, the FCC has been getting complaints about blaring commercials but concluded in 1984 there was no fair way to write regulations controlling the 'apparent loudness' of commercials. Now the AP reports that the Senate has unanimously passed a bill to require television stations and cable companies to keep commercials at the same volume as the programs they interrupt using industry guidelines on how to process, measure and transmit audio in a uniform way. Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY), a co-sponsor, says it's time to stop the use of loud commercials to startle viewers into paying attention. 'TV viewers should be able to watch their favorite programs without fear of losing their hearing when the show goes to a commercial.' The House has already passed similar legislation, so before the new measure becomes law, minor differences between the two versions have to be worked out when Congress returns to Washington after the November 2 election."
Re:This is impractical (Score:5, Funny)
If only there was some way of taking a single piece of source material and adjusting its loudness at the time of transmission so that different volumes could be selected for different situations.
Alas, apparently the technology to dynamically alter sound data in such a way does not exist.
Billy Mays here for another exciting product.... (Score:5, Funny)
Hi Billy Mays here for the Commercial Kill.
Sick of commercials blaring and waking up your hooker in the middle of the night?
Using the power of the internet we can eliminate loud obnoxious commercials for your viewing pleasure.
Note: Commercials only removed from pirated material. Non Pirated material will be subject to EVEN LOUDER commercials that conveniently have the volume control disabled during duration.
HI (Score:3, Funny)
Re:This is impractical (Score:2, Funny)
>>>the same spot could play louder during Footday Night Monball than during CSI,
(1) So what?
(2) I think you might have that backwards. The music in CSI and other dramas is often louder than the sports games. Sure when a crowd cheers football gets loud, but the overall average volume is quieter. (IMHO)
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>>>What will the Senate do next, vote to reduce gravity, so overweight people can get around more easily?
I thought they were planning to outlaw any car older than 2005, in order to stimulate the purchase of new cars - a kind of Cash for Clunkers Megadrive. Or maybe that was the plan to smash windows to provide job for glaziers? I don't know. I get easily distra..... oooo beach volleyball in TV! So bouncy. And fit. :-D
Re:No, it is practical (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Congress has it's priorities (Score:4, Funny)
Yeah, thank god. I'm glad I can spend the time I would have spent clicking the mute button on my remote.........sitting in front of the TV anyway. It's a great day for freedom people. We need to mark this with a special 4chan-style holiday, National Commercial Volume Law Day, where teenagers traditionally secretly turn up the volume of every television and stereo they can find and then mute it causing the next user to be reminded of the glorious freedom of America.
Re:This is impractical (Score:5, Funny)
The presenters are too loud on Radio 1 because you can hear them.
Re:Uncharacteristic: (Score:2, Funny)
Re:This is impractical (Score:4, Funny)
You mean like when watching teevee at an old person's house?
Re:It's almost as if (Score:5, Funny)
Comment removed (Score:4, Funny)
Re:It's almost as if (Score:3, Funny)
Re:It's almost as if (Score:4, Funny)
Fish gotta swim, Republicans gotta screw us, Democrats gotta screw up.
Democrats doing something which they could screw up at, rather than doing nothing, would be at least a refreshing change of pace.
One wonders why republicans don't threaten to filibuster congressional democrats' orders at restaurants. Within days, most of the democrats would have starved to death.